Given that corporate Boards remaining relentless in cash maximization policies, alongside reluctance to spend without a confident payback period, the obvious outlet is stepped-up acquisitions. Given a strategic free cash flow-based acquisition, firms could put themselves in a position of stepping up their return on invested capital, given the very low cost of debt that might need to be raised to fund the purchase. A well-priced and timed acquisition can significantly add to shareholder value, while of course, an ill-priced, ill-executed and poor candidate would severely destroy value.
The market has struggled to find its footing this week, but there are stocks that remain in up-trends. Below we highlight the Russell 1,000 stocks that have made 52-week highs this week. The names are generally spread across all industry groups, with technology-related names leading the way. Apple (AAPL) is the most notable name on the list, making a new high on Monday. The stock is up 28.59% year to date. Other notable names on the list...
Moody’s recently estimated that total insured losses from the British Petroleum (BP) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will run somewhere between $1.4 billion and $3.5 billion. The insured losses would run much higher if BP had purchased commercial liability insurance coverage instead of choosing to self-insure through a captive.
One of the things you learn as a fundamental investor is that the quality of accounting derived from accrual entries is always lower than that for cash entries. There is an implicit assumption behind every accrual entry that someone will make good in the future to pay cash, whether the amount is fixed or estimated.
Accruals vary in quality. Accounts Receivable are more reliable than inventories. Who knows what fixed assets, property, plant and ...
According to Ned Davis Research, $100 invested in all dividend payers of the S&P 500 index in 1972, would have grown to $2,266 by the end of 2009. The same $100 invested in non-dividend paying stocks in the S&P 500 returned a negative 39% over the same period. The performance of dividend payers and initiators was even better, returning $2,945 on the initial investment in 1972. Dividend investors should utilize every edge they could find in order to deliver above average total returns. As a ...
(This post is part of our series on tracking hedge fund portfolios. If you're unfamiliar with tracking investments they disclose via SEC filings, check out our series preface on hedge fund 13F filings.)
Next up is Jonathan Auerbach's hedge fund Hound Partners. Hound is a New York based firm that Auerbach started with assistance from legendary hedgie Julian Robertson. He is one of the many 'Tiger Seeds' that Robertson has sprouted up in an attempt to crank out a new round of successful investment managers. Auerbach of course previously worked for Robertson's Tiger Management.
NEW YORK (Market Intellisearch) -- The stock price of WR Berkley Corporation crossed above the 50-day moving average on heavier than usual volume. The crossing of the stock price above the 50-day ...
New York, July 30th (TradersHuddle.com) - Unusual high volume detected on shares of WR Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB), early in the trading session. WR Berkley is currently trading higher by 1.05 ...
July 30 (Reuters) - The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Friday. To inform us of other job changes, send an email to moves@thomsonreuters.com. BMO Capital ...
By Chip Brian Below are the top five companies in the Property & Casualty Insurance industry as measured by lowest relative performance. This analysis was based on yesterday's trading activity as ...
GREENWICH, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WR Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) today announced the appointment of Douglas J. Powers as president and chief executive officer of Carolina Casualty Insurance ...
NEW YORK (Market Intellisearch) -- Shares of WR Berkley Corporation settled at $26.82 down $0.28(-1.03%) in today's trading session. On the volume front, trading was heavier than usual and the ...
By Seeking Alpha 07/27/10 - 03:10 PM EDT The speakers' remarks may contain forward-looking statements. Some of the forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words ...
NEW YORK (Market Intellisearch) -- Shares of WR Berkley Corporation closed above the 50-day moving average of $26.98. When analyzing trading patterns, technical analysts and investors will view ...
WR Berkley Corp.'s (WRB) second-quarter profit rose 13%, and the specialty insurer's results were better than analysts expected. The company focuses on niche property and casualty markets ...
GREENWICH, Conn., Jul 26, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- WR Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) today reported net income for the second quarter of 2010 of $110 million, or 70 cents per share, compared with ...
Hickey and Walters (
![Complete Story »](http://variantperceptions.wordpress.com/">Variant Perceptions</a> submits: </strong><p>I made a mistake in <a href="http://variantperceptions.wordpress.com/2010/06/05/insurance-sector-price-to-book/" rel="nofollow"><strong>the last post</strong></a>. How could I possible hide some interesting data in an inconspicuous link at the end of a boring side comment? <a href="http://alephblog.com/" rel="nofollow"><strong>David Merkel</strong></a>deserves better than this (<em>click to enlarge</em>).</p><p><a href="http://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/2010/6/6/saupload_insurance.jpg"><img src="http://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/2010/6/6/saupload_insurance_1_thumb1.jpg" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-943" /></a></p><br/><a href=){kind=link}